Most people visit the Pantanal, world’s largest wetland, during the dry season between July to October, and are puzzle about the “wetland” part of this title.Landscape is extremely dry, roads are dusty and water is concentrate in few ponds. A great wildlife spectacle, a kind of nature decadence avec elegance but no wetland at all.Our Pantanal lodge, an island in waterworld The Pantanal receives 1,000-1,600mm of rain per year, predominantly between November and March. During the rainy season, rivers overflow and – together with fish and other aquatic wildlife – disperse across the plain to inundate 25-75% of the Pantanal. The flooded area can be ten times larger than the world’s most famous wetland, Florida’s Everglades, and 15 times the size of the best-known wetland for watching wildlife, Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Water level rise by up to 5m, soil nutrient levels increase and aquatic vegetation blooms. It is only after February, when first waves of water coming from the plateaus outside the lowland start arriving, that the Pantanal shows its aquatic side. Dry land is at a premium, and higher areas hold concentrations of terrestrial mammals.As we always stress, all the bird specialties are resident, so even during this period we will be able to see the magnificent hyacinth macaw, the mighty jabiru, the near endemics Mato Grosso antbird and white-lored spinetail, the bizarre red-billed scythebill, the colorful blue-crowned trogon and the endemic and near threatened chestnut-bellied guan among others.Our activities will be pace by the forecast of the day. For those in good conditions and high spirits, we offer a horseback riding which will cross the flooded fields in order to reach isolated forest islands, no previous experience is required.But this “waterworld” must to be sense in a whole experience, not just from outside as an observer but from inside as a participant, and nothing is more insider than snorkeling in crystal clear streams fully packed with tropical fish and freshwater stingrays. Can you imagine this experience? Dozens of fish around while you gently float down the stream. It is not our imagination, just outside the pantanal in the Serra Azul, the small town of Bom Jardim is located in a limestone mountain hills, there are many caves, waterfalls and some incredibly clear rivers surrounded by lush forest, where it’s possible to see hundreds of fish eyeball to eyeball. For us, the main attraction is snorkeling in a deep limestone pool surrounded by tropical fish and snorkeling along a crystal clear river with school of tropical fish and if lucky also freshwater stingrays.The area is a transitional zone between the cerrado and the Amazonian rainforest.2011 Departures : This journey could be request at any time between January to May, limited to small groups of up to 08 participants, guaranteed with a minimum of two guests. Due to the road conditions, water level and concentration of wildlife during the flooded season we do not go as far as the end of the Transpantaneira road or beyond. We maximize our time in the pantanal exploring our stakeouts for local specialties offering visitors the chance to enjoy the pantanal at maximum of possible confort. Notice that rainfall is not a problem at all during this flooded season, once our tropical rains do not last for hours or days, it is worth of mention that most of our tours during this period of the year barely face rainfall during our outings. By the way, the flooded season is our favorite to visit the pantanal, once you really can see why the pantanal is the world’s largest wetland.
